Su Mu knew full well that even if he secretly learned the Silver Needle Meridian Seal in its entirety, it would only alleviate the Gu Poison. At most, it could delay the day the poison flared up, but it couldn't eradicate it.
"Medicine isn't something you can master overnight..."
"Right now, our only hope of curing the poison lies with Pharmacist Lin. He can't be allowed to come to harm!"
Su Mu's eyes flickered. I have to do something, he thought. Just as he was about to speak, an urgent shout rang out from the street beyond the courtyard.
"Make way! Quickly, make way!"
The rapid, thunderous clatter of hooves interrupted their thoughts. Iron-shod hooves struck the ground, making all of Jiuchen Alley tremble.
Su Mu looked out of the courtyard and saw a large number of Qingyun Army soldiers in armor riding through the streets. They were headed toward the southern city gate.
"The Qingyun Army has been deployed again... Something must have happened recently."
Since settling in Qingyun City, Su Mu had seen Qingyun Army soldiers galloping through the streets more than once. Under Great Yan law, unless there was an emergency such as a war, even government troops weren't allowed to ride through the streets of a county town.
After the Qingyun Army had ridden past, Su Mu came back to himself and asked, "Young Physician, could you tell me a little about Pharmacist Lin's situation?"
Over the past few days, the two had become somewhat acquainted. The Young Physician began to explain, "The Hundred Pills Tower has monopolized all the medicinal herbs in Qingyun City and the surrounding area. A few months ago, the prices of certain herbs in the city started climbing steadily. Now a single thirty-year-old blood ginseng sells for nearly thirty taels of silver. In the past, even the best ones cost no more than ten taels. That's more than three times the old price."
"So my master went traveling a few months ago. He planned to buy a batch of herbs from farmers over there, or perhaps gather some himself in the medicinal mountains. According to our agreement, he should have returned a few days ago, but there's still been no word from him."
As the Young Physician spoke, she couldn't hide the worry on her face.
Su Mu now had a rough idea of the situation. Several days had passed since Pharmacist Lin's expected return, and there was still no news. If he hadn't been delayed on the road, then something had likely happened to him.
The first force that came to Su Mu's mind was the Black Mountain Army.
"Pharmacist Lin is a good man, and good fortune will surely protect him. Young Physician, do you know where he went to buy herbs?"
"To the south. Master said there are many medicinal mountains down there."
The south. Medicinal mountains?
Su Mu paused. He remembered that Qingshui Town was a major herb-trading town, with plenty of herbal merchants coming and going.
"Master didn't say exactly where he planned to buy herbs, but he mentioned the name of a small town. He said it was on the way back to the county city. Its name was somewhat similar to Qingyun..." The Young Physician added this suddenly, but from the way she blinked, she clearly couldn't recall the exact name.
A name somewhat similar to Qingyun City?
Qingyun City. Qingshui Town?
"Could it be Qingshui Town?"
Su Mu asked hesitantly. The Young Physician immediately brightened. "That's right, it was Qingshui Town! Master said that area produces mountain ginseng, and there are quite a few medicinal mountains nearby."
Hearing that it was Qingshui Town, Su Mu's thoughts stirred. He remembered that the Pharmacy Apprentice at the Medicine Shop in town had once tried to sell him mountain ginseng. Everything fit.
This would also give him a chance to return to the Iron Shop and see the masters there. They all loved their liquor, so he could bring back some of the good wine from the city. As for Little Tiger, he could bring back some pastries.
"Young man, could you make a trip to the area around Qingshui Town? I can pay you for your trouble." As she spoke, the Young Physician started to get up to fetch the money.
Su Mu shook his head. The Young Physician hadn't charged him for treating his illness these past few days. She'd said it was practice, but Su Mu knew he owed her a favor. Besides, he had secretly learned from her.
This trip would be a chance to repay that favor. He also needed to find Pharmacist Lin to treat his illness. With this favor between them, Pharmacist Lin would surely put more care into treating him.
"You don't need to pay me. My hometown is in a neighboring town to Qingshui, not far away. I was already planning to go back in a few days, so this works out perfectly."
"You really don't want any money?" The Young Physician blinked, looking incredulous.
"No. It's on my way, that's all."
"Then thank you, young man. Once we find Master, I'll make sure he treats you first!" The Young Physician was overjoyed, her eyes curving into crescents.
"Young Physician, could you describe Pharmacist Lin's appearance? And does the medicine hall have a token I could show him if we meet?"
"I have a portrait of Master. I'll get it for you."
The Young Physician soon brought a painting from the bookshelf and spread it out on the desk. Su Mu looked closely. The old man in the portrait was tall and slender, with graying hair at his temples and the bearing of an immortal. He matched Su Mu's idea of a renowned physician quite well.
"As for a token from the medicine hall..."
The Young Physician thought it over, then reached up and took a simple wooden hairpin shaped like a crane from her hair. Su Mu accepted it without a second thought.
"The sky is overcast today, and it's getting late. I'll head back to pack and set out first thing tomorrow morning."
"All right. Come by the medicine hall before you leave, and I'll see you off."
Watching Su Mu leave the medicine hall, the Young Physician suddenly remembered something and let out a cry. Two blushes sprang to her delicate cheeks, which grew hot and flushed.
"That hairpin was just a token... A token from the medicine hall, that's all."
After leaving the medicine hall, Su Mu thought of what the Young Physician had said. He had also run out of the herbs he'd brought from town, so he went into a Medicine Shop in the city to buy ingredients for Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup.
"Sir, your herbs come to six taels of silver in total. I've packed them for you."
"All right."
Su Mu frowned as he left with the herbs. In the past, six doses had cost him only three taels of silver—half a tael per dose. Here, they were selling for six taels. The price had doubled outright.
But he couldn't go without the herbs. The price of medicinal soup had already doubled, and the ointment he'd need for bone forging later would only cost more.
"So the Hundred Pills Tower, one of the five great forces... No wonder monopolies are so lucrative."
With a quiet sigh, Su Mu went to the market to buy some wine and pastries. Passing a rice-and-flour shop, he paused briefly. He saw many people lined up to buy grain, and checked the prices on the wooden sign outside.
The rice and flour in the shop cost quite a bit more than they had ten days ago. A dou of rice had once cost five wen, or seven or eight wen for better quality. Today, even the cheapest went for seven or eight wen per dou.
Generally, prices surged over a short period only when natural disasters brought famine or during wartime. Considering how frequently he'd seen the Qingyun Army deployed over the past few days, Su Mu thought the latter was more likely.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the Black Mountain Army... I hope I'm overthinking it."
He'd bought plenty of rice and flour when he rented the house that day, so he didn't need to buy grain just yet. Before long, Su Mu had bought several jugs of good wine and a few boxes of pastries and returned home.
That night, Su Mu rubbed the last of the White Jade Savage Bone Paste onto his left arm. The jar was completely empty.
Early the next morning, Su Mu arrived outside the medicine hall. The Young Physician was already waiting there, but something about her felt strange today, different from usual.
The Young Physician walked Su Mu all the way to the city gate. "Young man, be careful on the road. Take these bottles of bruise medicine."
Su Mu accepted the medicine, put on his bamboo hat, waved goodbye, and left Qingyun City.
The start of autumn was near, and the scorching heat had begun to fade. The weather had turned a little cooler, though rain grew more frequent once autumn arrived.
Halfway along the road, a light rain began to fall. The poison in Su Mu's body flared at once, turning his face pale and his hands and feet cold. Su Mu took a deep breath and set the force within him in motion.
Before, his force could only circulate through his flesh and blood. But after reaching great completion in Hidden Force, Su Mu could send it through his skin and pores. He circulated it across the surface of his body, forming an invisible membrane.
The rain blown in by the slanting wind slid right off when it touched the membrane of force, unable to penetrate Su Mu's body. The excruciating pain brought on by the poison eased considerably.
A membrane of force, impervious to wind and rain!
"Five or six more li, and I'll reach the town."
Just then, Su Mu quietly withdrew the membrane of force from his body. His ears twitched. The sound of hoofbeats striking the ground reached him on the wind.
Soon, the earth began to tremble.
Su Mu turned to look. A group of several dozen riders was racing through the steady autumn rain from the direction of Qingyun City.
"Those uniforms... Are they Qingyun Army soldiers?"
Seeing the riders' uniforms, Su Mu let out a quiet breath of relief. The dozens of Qingyun Army soldiers quickly drew near, each clad in armor with a sharp blade at his waist. Their hoofbeats joined into a single roar as their iron-shod horses splashed along the rain-soaked road, kicking up sprays of water.
The Qingyun Army rode with imposing urgency, clearly on an important mission.
Su Mu immediately stepped aside, moving to the edge of the road.
As the two parties passed, the leading Qingyun Army rider glanced at the boy standing by the roadside in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat, carrying several jugs of wine.
"That boy just now was a little... strange."
The wind of late autumn gusted wildly, and in the ceaseless rain, even someone wearing a straw raincoat was bound to get wet. Yet the boy showed barely a trace of dampness.
But the mission was urgent, and he had no time to dwell on some boy he'd passed by the roadside. He flicked his reins, kicked his horse in the belly, and sped away.
"Hyah!"
"Pick up the pace! Faster! They're in the little town up ahead. Those rebels have attacked several towns this month. This time, we can't let them escape!"
As the riders disappeared into the distance, their conversation reached the boy's ears.
Rebels were attacking towns, and the town ahead was their current target. The boy looked up sharply, his pupils contracting.
"The town up ahead... is Qingshui Town!"
Before you continue